The Next Day
by Lzn64
Summary: Nothing wakes you up to your own mortality quite like losing a dear friend. HectorxFlorina


Author's Note: Fire Emblem is the property of Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.

* * *

The mood of the camp could be perfectly surmised in one word: hopeless. It was a shocking change from what Hector had grown so used to seeing; their travels had formed countless friendships, and their downtimes between travel were usually pervaded by good natured chatter, peals of laughter from the various social circles that had formed... nothing like the dreary scene that faced him now. The overcast evening sky above completed the picture rather neatly, but he had never been the artistic type, and the poetic justice of it all went well beyond him.

It wasn't as though he was feeling any better than the rest of them. The gravity of the situation was apparent enough to everyone, but not many of them had really been close to Ninian prior to her death. He winced. Even now, since the incident that had taken her life and changed his entire world, it was difficult to think of her that way. And he hadn't been all that close to her, either, to be fair. Still, Eliwood had rightfully been the heart of this army, and seeing him that way - it was much worse even than it had been when Lord Elbert had died.

Just as well, Hector figured. After all, Eliwood hadn't run Lord Elbert through with his own sword, had he?

Not that anyone thought Ninian's death was any more his fault than Lord Elbert's had been -except Nils, but the boy had a right to be angry, Hector supposed, and of course Eliwood himself. They might have been best friends, but there wasn't a damn thing that could be said to convince him otherwise. He'd tried countless times in the past few days to no avail; there was no getting through to him, not steeped in sorrow and self loathing like he was.

It was taking its toll on everyone, bit by bit.

They'd reach Ostia before long, even traveling at this subdued pace... he knew most of their number were looking forward to suitable lodgings and filling meals, perhaps the best things available to improve morale short of bringing back the dead. Funny, then, that it was likely the Ostians themselves among this group least looking forward to their return. Except Serra, he suspected, but she hardly counted.

Normally, he'd be looking forward to returning home... but if Oswin thought he was fooling anyone with his avoidant tendencies of late, he was sorely mistaken. It had to have been news about his brother, and if Oswin was keeping it from him, it probably wasn't of the positive sort. He was no stranger to his brother's illness; it had taken their parents prior, after all. He tried in vain to picture his brother at their last meeting; it seemed like ages ago, so much had happened since then. The picture was washed out, and he could not recall important details - had he been thinner? Paler?

He shook his head. Maybe he was being selfish, worrying so about something like this, when there were more important things happening all around them here. The problem now, he figured, was that there was really just too much to worry about - he'd never been a worrier by nature. That was always Eliwood's thing, between the two of them.

But what sort of friend could he call himself, if he let Eliwood bear all this alone? No matter what they found in Ostia...

It was fitting. He'd avoided responsibility for so long, and now it was all catching up to him, faster than he could manage. He probably deserved it.

There were few people milling about outside of their tents; it gave the camp an eerie quality, much like that of an abandoned ghost town. Hector wandered between them absently, having no particular destination in mind. If he had to brood, he'd rather do it out here than shut up somewhere alone. Not that he was particularly looking for companionship - his usual group contained the last people he wanted to see right then, he couldn't think of anything more to say to Eliwood, and Lyn, well... she had her own affairs to tend to, he supposed.

A peculiar noise in the general vicinity ahead of him caught his attention; a snorting noise, accompanied by a strangle rustle, that sounded a lot like... he frowned. Right, a horse with wings. He'd had a few run ins with them in the past, after all. A cursory glance around told him that he was still some distance away from where the mounts were tethered together. Regardless, a Pegasus turned past a tent ahead, admitting itself into his field of vision. Hector sighed.

"You're not wandering around by yourself, are you?" He paused for a moment to reflect on why he felt compelled to talk to a beast that couldn't understand him anyway, but came to no satisfying conclusion. He shrugged it off. The Pegasus paused for a moment, and Hector could have sworn that it was eyeing him with an affronted expression. It was uncanny, almost.

"Don't you look at me that way. How'd you get loose?" Hector noted that the Pegasus was still adorned with riding straps and reins, which was odd - usually those girls that rode these around all the time were sticklers for maintaining them. He almost found it in himself to smile, remembering his last run in with a winged horse and its rider - if there was one way to get that girl to talk, it was by threatening her horse! He still felt sort of bad about that, but it had worked, after all.

As though he could read his thoughts, the Pegasus snorted at him, in a manner that possessed an almost human like quality of disdain. Hector frowned.

"C'mere, you - you shouldn't be wandering around..." He took a few steps forward; the Pegasus - he suddenly recalled his name, Huey - remained standing there patiently, pawing the ground with a hoof as though wondering what had taken him so long.

"Still haven't forgiven me for last time?" Hector raised an eyebrow, taking one of the loose reins in hand; as soon as he did so, Huey took off at a pace swift enough to surprise Hector into nearly tripping in his haste to keep up. He muttered a few choice curses; he could have sworn the Pegasus turned to glare at him quite openly in response. Farina had been right on one count, he supposed - these winged horses were definitely a lot different than there mundane counterparts - they were downright creepy sometimes.

He found himself almost thankful for the fact that there weren't many people around outside; after all, he probably looked rather ridiculous, being practically dragged along by a Pegasus this way. He consoled his pride by assuring himself that the only reason he was putting up with the animal's audacity was because he seemed to be heading in the right direction, toward the other mounts tied up together on the far side of the camp. There was no doubt, he grudgingly admitted to himself, that these animals were at least slightly smarter than the others...

Just as quickly as he had taken off, the Pegasus - Huey, Hector reminded himself irritably, came to a stop, still a good distance away from the now visible tethering grounds. Hector fixed him with a sour glare.

"I bet you think you're clever," He muttered, attempting to pull the now stubborn Pegasus in the right direction. Naturally, he didn't budge an inch. Hector sighed. "And to think, I thought you were going to be agreeable for once. In your own way." Huey gave a snort as though to indicate that the very thought were preposterous. Hector rolled his eyes.

Surprisingly, Huey took a few steps forward, but this progress was decidedly short lived, as he stopped again a few short feet later. Hector eyed him critically, having dropped the reins hopelessly already. It was plain the horse had a mind of his own. Huey made a nondescript sound, tossing his mane, and much to Hector's chagrin, head butted him full in the chest.

"Hey!" His brows furrowed, and he took a few steps backward. "There's no need to get-"

He did it again, more insistently, nearly knocking him over with the force of the push.

"Fine! I warned you once before, if you wanted to play rough, I'd be more than happy!" Hector lunged forward menacingly, but froze in his tracks as a familiar voice sounded behind him. Well, barely - she was as quiet as ever, but at least she was talking to him now.

"L-Lord Hector...?" She was practically whispering; he cast one last glare in Huey's direction, who was eyeing him with an infuriatingly impassive gaze - strange that getting dirty looks from a Pegasus could be so annoying - and turned to face her, trying to pretend that he had, in fact, not been about to initiate a fight with her Pegasus.

The first thing he noticed, before he could think of anything to say, was that she'd been crying - her eyes were red, her cheeks flushed, and the same feeling he always got when he saw women crying twisted his insides. He wasn't sure how it had come about, but for as long as he could remember, he'd never been able to stand seeing people cry, particularly women. Maybe it had something to do with his own inability to do so.

"Hey, Florina - sorry, I was just, uh... I saw him-" he indicated the Pegasus behind him with a shrug - "wandering around the camp, and..."

"He was... ohh..." She blushed even harder, looking away. "I... um... I was getting his f-food ready, and I guess he..." She sighed, rubbing at her eyes, and Hector remained carefully quiet, not wanting to frighten her into silence again. "I'm sorry, I'm such a nuisance... if Fiora found out I let Huey wander off alone, I..."

"Well, uh... it's not like he was really causing any harm. Look, it's fine - he's all right, right?" Hector pointed out hopefully, wondering if that was the cause of her distress. But if she'd been worried about her Pegasus, wouldn't she have been _looking _for him? "You... are you all right?"

"Um, yes!" Florina nodded, a bit too vigorously, and refused to meet his gaze as she walked past toward Huey, her cheeks still quite pink. Hector frowned, turning to keep his eye on her.

"Oh, Huey..." He distinctly heard her say, though he had to strain to hear. "Why are you always causing trouble for Lord Hector?" She reprimanded him softly, winding the reins loosely around her arm and leading him away. Hector debated his next course of action for a moment, turning over his options in his mind. On the one hand, he'd done what he came here to do, hadn't he?

On the other hand, that damn horse was smart, whether he wanted to admit it or not, and in retrospect he figured his aim was pretty obvious. Why the horse couldn't go fetch Lyn or something was a mystery to him - maybe he'd just been the first one he'd come across. He'd noticed himself that there weren't many people out. Smart or not, clearly he couldn't see that Florina didn't like him much - she didn't like any men he knew of, least of all a guy like him. He sighed.

He'd just decided to go on after them and make sure she was really all right, against his better judgment, when she re-emerged from behind the other animals, without Huey this time. She paused when she saw him still standing there; clearly, she'd expected him to be gone. Well of course she did, he didn't have any reason to stay, did he?

"Right, ah... Sorry," Hector offered lamely, figuring it might be better if he left, after all. Shockingly, she responded, in a way that made him reconsider his actions for a third time.

"Huey's always bothering you, isn't he?" She sighed, and he heard her take a breath, as though trying to gather a little courage - or stop crying, he didn't know.

"It's no problem," He shrugged. "At least he didn't try gnawing my arm off again..."

"If I were a better Pegasus Knight, maybe I could keep track of my own Pegasus," She whispered, and he noticed with alarm that she seemed to be dangerously close to tears again. "I... I can't do a-anything right..." She was staring at the floor, but he was sure if he could see her eyes there'd be tears welling in them right at that moment. He took a few steps forward, noting vaguely that if Lyn walked in on this scene, she'd probably wake the dead with her screaming at him. She'd told him to leave Florina alone, after all.

But he couldn't just stand there and let her think she was worthless. Nothing, in his opinion, could be further from the truth.

"Hey, now..." He frowned, and she looked up as he approached, her eyes widening slightly, like a cornered animal. He paused. He didn't _want _to scare her, but it seemed that was all he was really good for. "That isn't true... I mean, I've seen you out there... You're great."

"I... ah... y-you think so...?" She seemed genuinely surprised, and he nodded, though he didn't dare go any closer to her. He was afraid she might run off like a frightened rabbit if he tried anything of the sort.

"What are you doing out here, all alone?" Hector abruptly asked. He was genuinely curious, and it was rare indeed that he held a conversation of this length with this girl, besides. "Is that why you've been out here crying?"

"Um..." She mumbled something he couldn't make out, and edged away from him shyly. He was hardly satisfied with that response, of course.

"I'm not going to bite you, you know," Hector pointed out, allowing the tiniest bit of frustration to creep into his voice. "It's not like I'm, well... I'm not a monster!"

"Yes, I..." Florina's face went a shade redder, a feat Hector was surprised to see possible in the first place. "I know, I just... I'm just... I'm just being silly, that's all, like always... I'm sorry..." Her sentences tumbled out in a rush, and he immediately felt terrible for raising his voice; that was probably the absolute stupidest thing he could have done.

"I don't think you're silly," Hector pointed out, crossing his arms. "But I wish you'd have a little more confidence in yourself... a girl with your talent shouldn't be out here feeling sorry for herself!"

"That's not..." Florina shifted uncomfortably, furiously scrubbing at her eyes. She knew how much Hector hated things like that. "That's not why I was here... I... I've just been thinking about everything... and what happened... and I just d-don't understand _w-why..."_She sniffed, losing the battle against her tears, like always. Hector gaped at her for a moment; this was about what had happened with _Ninian?_

And here he was lecturing her about feeling sorry for herself! Not for the first time that day, he wondered how on earth he managed to be such a jackass when he _meant _so well. It was like a gift. Or a curse. Definitely a curse.

"...Oh." He realized that was a lame response, but he'd never been particularly adept at finding comforting words, especially not spur of the moment. _Why _hadn't that blasted horse gone to find Lyn, or one of her sisters, or someone with some measure of skill with these things? She didn't seem to notice his obvious floundering; oblivious, she continued on, as though starting in the first place had opened a floodgate.

"I p-probably sound so selfish, d-don't I?" She spoke miserably, the same tone of self loathing he'd heard in Eliwood's voice so often lately catching his attention. "C-compared to L-Lord Eliwood, I'm j-just..."

"You don't sound selfish at all," Hector managed to get out; he was used to countering self debasing claims, at least. Eliwood was full of them, lately. He thought back to the weeks previous, and remembered something he'd heard Lyn mention; Ninian was - _had been _- so quiet, she had usually kept to herself, aside from when she was with Lord Eliwood, or her brother Nils... but she seemed to be spending time with Florina near the end, too. Hector hadn't paid attention to things like that, but... he did wonder for a moment just how close those girls had been. In his experience, it hardly mattered with women - he knew for a fact that sniper Rebecca had never exchanged two words with Ninian, and she'd still been a mess of sobs when she'd heard what happened. He wasn't quite sure if mentioning that was the right thing to do at that point, though.

"She didn't d-deserve this," Florina whispered, ignoring him. "She had a r-reason to go on... she had someone _loved, _someone who loved her! It isn't fair!" Her voice was gaining strength now, a strange sort of fervor Hector would have never expected _her _to speak with. "If someone had to die, it should have been someone... someone like me!" She insisted, fresh tears spilling over her cheeks. "N-not her... not..."

"That's absurd," Hector replied flatly. "What are you on about - do you think no one cares for you?"

"It's not the same," Florina insisted, and she seemed to remember who it was she was talking to - the conviction went out of her voice, and he could swear he saw her trembling as her eyes rose for a brief second to his own. She wrapped her arms around herself, as though suddenly cold, and he saw goose bumps rising on the pale skin of her arms. She shivered. "I have my sisters, and I have Lyn... but... it's still not the same... Ninian was too good for what..." Florina looked away, her words giving way to a choked sob.

"No one deserves that," Hector replied, in a harsher tone than he had meant to use. "Not Ninian, not you, not _anyone! _It's stupid to talk about switching places or who's... who's more _worthy _ of living!" He paused; his words certainly weren't helping - she was shaking her head, trembling with the weight of her sobs. He found he couldn't stop talking, though that she was harboring ideas like that... that was no way to think! "What we should be doing now is thinking about how we're going to _avenge _her, not about impossible things like changing what happened in the first place. We've still got a purpose, a goal - Ninian wouldn't have wanted a friend of hers talking about dying in place of her! She'd want us to keep going, and bring Nergal down! She'd never forgive us if we just gave in to despair - what kind of honor would that do her memory?"

Florina said nothing, but perhaps she couldn't, between her sobs. He wondered if she was even listening to him, still.

"I... I think even Eliwood can see that... and I'm sure Nils will come around..." Hector's voice had lost a bit of its fire; he sounded subdued, now... a tone that sounded rather odd, coming from him. He strode purposefully forward, to where Florina had sunk to her knees on the cold dirt floor before him, face buried in her hands. He crouched before her, and took her hands in his. She stiffened, predictably, but she couldn't go anywhere - not now.

"L-Lord Hector..." She sniffed, looking down in embarrassment, refusing to meet his eyes even at this close distance. "Y-you're right... but, I..." She closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping in a defeated manner. "I'm not strong enough to see things that way... I..."

"Yes, you are," Hector disagreed, releasing one hand to wipe her tears away. She flinched at his touch, but only initially. And he'd expected that, hadn't he? "You're stronger than you think you are. Stronger than anyone gives you credit for..."

"I-I'm not. Look at me, I'm..."

"You're not weak. You're human. The things you're feeling... they're the things we're fighting to protect. The things Ninian would want us to fight for..."

"But, I..." Florina's eyes misted over with a memory, and she shuddered at the sight. "Y-you saw what... that man... is capable of... you s-saw..."

"I'm not going to give up," Hector insisted roughly, softly squeezing the hand he held still in his own. "None of us are. And we're going to win," He added, with just as much conviction.

"Any one of us c-could... if he wanted..." She looked down toward where his hand held her own, and he swore he saw a blush appear on those cheeks, already flushed red from crying. "I'm... I'm scared..." She admitted, so softly he barely heard it, even this close.

He stood, pulling her up with him, and her eyes widened at the sudden movement; before she could react, he'd pulled her against him, moving to wrap his free arm about her slim waist. He noted absently that the top of her head didn't even reach his chin; another time, he might have found that amusing. She was strong enough; he'd seen evidence of that in the past. But she was also frail, delicate - the type of girl he had no business being around, really. He was too clumsy to deal with a girl like this... he was too belligerent, too obtuse - he was everything Lyn said he was, despite how he denied it when she did.

But he held her anyway, because despite all the things he knew he was...

"I won't let anything happen to you," He whispered fiercely, bending slightly to speak directly in her ear. He felt some of the tension leave her as he spoke, though she was still quite stiff in his arms; he loosened his grip on her and took a small step backward. She still looked wound tight enough to bolt at any minute, but he could have sworn a flicker of disappointment crossed her features as he did so.

Well, maybe that had been wishful thinking.

"Lord Hector..." She whispered, unsure of how to respond - it wasn't as though she'd ever been in a situation like this before. Sure, Fiora had said the same things; even Farina had implied them once or twice, and Lyn was certainly dedicated to the idea of being her protector...

But none of them were Lord Hector, were they? She wished she could think of something to say.

"I meant it when I said I wanted you to stick by me when we fight," He explained, running a hand through his own short hair with a sigh. "I don't know if... well, when I talk, I don't always say what I mean, and... I didn't mean I wanted to keep you out of trouble, as though I thought you were a troublemaker or something! I meant, just... well..." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her - was that a _smile, _on that tear streaked face of hers? Well, at least his bumbling was good for _something. _"Hmph. Funny, am I?" He teased - the smile disappeared at once, and Hector cursed himself for saying anything at all. He _liked _the way she looked, with that smile.

"S-sorry, I didn't m-mean..."

"I'm joking," He sighed, shaking his head. "If I'm going to ramble on like an idiot, you may as well laugh at me - Elimine knows everyone else does it often enough."

"I c-can't imagine anyone teasing you, Lord Hector..."

"Well, you haven't seen Matthew, or Serra... or Eliwood, when he starts feeling better. And _Lyn, _she's probably the worst of them all!"

"Well..." Florina thought for a moment, and he noted with satisfaction that the tremor had gone out of her voice. She sounded much better when she spoke without it. "I guess I could imagine Serra... and Lyn..." She looked up at him, that smile back where it belonged, and he smiled back at her in return. She really _did _look nice when she smiled.

"...Come on," He insisted suddenly, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "How long have you been out here? You look cold - and was that your stomach, or mine?" He laughed at her scandalized expression - it had been his, of course - "I know I'm starving, at least. I can bug Matthew to find us some food..."

"Well..." She giggled, and he felt her relax against him, much to his satisfaction. "I guess I am hungry, but... Lord Hector... you're starting to sound like Fiora..."

He blinked.

"Fiora?"

"...Never mind," She said quickly, though she still obviously thought _something _was amusing. He glanced down at her suspiciously, walking slowly back toward the rest of camp.

"...What do you mean, I sound like _Fiora? _Are you trying to tell me I sound like a girl?"

"N-no!" She shook her head insistently, her giggles becoming a full fledged laugh at his incredulous tone. He smiled faintly; if she was pretty when she smiled... well... when she laughed...

"Hmm... you know... I've never heard you laugh, before."

"...Oh, I..." She blinked, her laughter fading, giving way to a surprised expression. "I guess I just haven't been very... happy, lately..."

"...Hm. ...Are you happy now?"

"Um..." Now that _was _a blush, he saw, and a damn cute one, at that. "...Yes, I am," She decided, nodding as though to emphasize the point. She looked up at him, smiling. "Very much."

"Good," He announced gruffly, pulling her a little closer.

He briefly wondered what Lyn would say if she were to see this; the thought was enough to nearly send him looking over his shoulder - well, why should he care what she said? Florina had said she was happy, hadn't she?

Still, he thought, allowing himself the slightest measure of trepidation. The woman was going to have an absolute _fit, _he was sure of it.

"Lord Hector...? Is something wrong...?" Florina had noticed his sudden change in expression; he shook his head, chasing those thoughts away.

"Not a thing," He replied cheerfully enough, the sincerity in his voice enough to convince her. "Actually, I'm better than I have been in a long time..."

And she nodded against him, agreeing wholeheartedly.


End file.
